Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Osteospermum ecklonis cultivar Akterra.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Osteospermum plant, botanically known as Osteospermum ecklonis, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Akterraxe2x80x99.
The new Osteospermum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Aabyhxc3x8j, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Osteospermum cultivars with uniform plant habit and interesting floret colors.
The new Osteospermum originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor during the spring of 1999 of the Osteospermum ecklonis cultivar Akope, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,684, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Osteospermum ecklonis identified as code number 9619, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Osteospermum was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled environment in Aabyhxc3x8j, Denmark in 2000.
Asexual reproduction of the new Osteospermum by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in Aabyhxc3x8j, Denmark in February, 2000. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Osteospermum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Akterra has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Akterraxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Akterraxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Osteospermum:
1. Uniformly mounded plant habit.
2. Freely branching growth habit; full and dense plants.
3. Freely flowering habit.
4. Dark green-colored foliage.
5. Large inflorescences with orange-colored ray florets.
The new Osteospermum can be compared to plants of the female parent, the cultivar Akope. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Aabyhxc3x8j, Denmark, plants of the new Osteospermum differed primarily from plants of the cultivar Akope in the following characteristics:
1 . Plants of the new Osteospermum had darker green-colored leaves than plants of the cultivar Akope.
2. Inflorescences of plants of the new Osteospermum were larger than inflorescences of plants of the cultivar Akope.
3. Ray florets of plants of the new Osteospermum were orange in color whereas ray florets of plants of the cultivar Akope were salmon pink in color.
The new Osteospermum can be compared to plants of the male parent, the selection 9619. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Aabyhxc3x8j, Denmark, plants of the new Osteospermum differed primarily from plants of the selection 9619 in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Osteospermum had darker green-colored leaves than plants of the selection 9619.
2. Plants of the new Osteospermum were more freely branching than plants of the selection 9619.
3. Ray florets of plants of the new Osteospermum were orange in color whereas ray florets of the selection 9619 were light pink in color.
The new Osteospermum can also be compared to plants of the cultivar Maputo, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Encinitas, Calif., plants of the new Osteospermum differed from plants of the cultivar Maputo in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Osteospermum were more compact than plants of the cultivar Maputo.
2. Plants of the new Osteospermum had darker green-colored leaves than plants of the cultivar Maputo.
3. Ray florets of plants of the new Osteospermum were orange in color whereas ray florets of plants of the cultivar Maputo were yellow in color.